Top News Today: Stocks Mixed as Hormuz Fears Offset Inflation Data

MARKET WRAPS

STOCKS: Stocks finished mixed as concerns over deadlock on the Strait of Hormuz offset optimism about inflation and artificial-intelligence profits.

TREASURYS: Treasury yields fell in the wake of muted consumer-price data.

FOREX: The U.S. dollar gained as traders weighed the outlook for inflation.

COMMODITIES: Oil futures added to recent gains as the U.S. and Iran hardened rhetoric on the Strait of Hormuz.

HEADLINES

Inflation Was 3.4% in July, Down Slightly From the Previous Month

The annual inflation rate fell slightly in July, and a key measure of

underlying price trends remained moderate last month.

Stop-and-start peace negotiations in the Middle East brought a respite

for gasoline prices. And so-called core prices, which exclude the

volatile food and energy categories, rose by 0.2% in July from the

previous month, a relatively modest increase offering hope that broader

price pressures could be abating.

Underlying inflation trends are especially decisive right now for the

Federal Reserve, where policymakers are grappling with whether and when

to raise interest rates. Wednesday's report may make the Fed more

comfortable waiting to see if inflation keeps cooling on its own, rather

than trying to tamp it down with rate increases.

Paramount Has Discussed Creating a Board to Ensure CNN's Independence

Paramount in recent months has discussed creating an editorial board

for CNN and other safeguards to ease concerns over its news operation's

independence, according to people familiar with the situation.

Paramount, which owns CBS News, has agreed to buy CNN parent Warner

Bros. Discovery for $81 billion. The internal discussions about

establishing an oversight committee for news have come up as the company

has planned for the deal's closing, the people said.

The deal is now on hold as an antitrust lawsuit filed by California

and 11 other states winds its way through the federal court system; a

trial is scheduled for March. The plaintiffs allege that combining Warner

and Paramount would give one company too much power over theatrical movie

distribution and cable television.

Home Depot Chief Executive to Take Medical Leave of Absence

Home Depot Chief Executive Ted Decker will take a temporary medical

leave of absence, the company said Wednesday.

Decker, who took over the role in 2022 and is currently 63 years old,

is expected to return in the next few months, according to a company

statement. A company spokeswoman declined to share further details on the

reason for Decker's medical leave.

Ann-Marie Campbell, the senior executive vice president of U.S. stores

and operations, and Richard McPhail, chief financial officer, will

oversee operations during his absence, Home Depot said.

Eli Lilly Sues Sellers of Black Market Weight-Loss Drugs

Eli Lilly has filed six new lawsuits against U.S. entities that it

alleges are selling a version of the company's investigational

weight-loss drug on the black market.

The pharmaceutical conglomerate is claiming the entities sell

retatrutide, a GLP-1 drug that is still in trials and not yet approved by

the Food and Drug Administration.

Lilly's lawsuits involve entities known as Aesthetic Envy, Astra

Peptides, Legendary Peptides, Striker Pharmacy, Texas Peptides and Lone

Star Peptide. They are filed in courts in California and Texas.

Brinker Forecasts Continued Growth on Chili's Momentum

Brinker International guided for another year of profitable growth, as

its Chili's chain continues to attract value-seeking diners with its

Triple Dipper appetizer, burgers and ribs.

Chief Executive Kevin Hochman on Wednesday said Chili's again

increased its lead in the casual-dining space during the latest quarter,

benefiting from recent efforts to improve its food, service and

atmosphere, as well as increase its relevance.

Chili's is also winning when it comes to value, with a per-person

average spend that is nearly $4 below that of its competitors. The

efforts, Hochman said, "are supporting a powerful flywheel of traffic and

sales growth, margin expansion, and then reinvestment into our business."

Bank of America to Deploy $250 Billion to Bolster AI and Energy

Infrastructure

Bank of America said it plans to inject $250 billion into an

infrastructure push that aims to boost U.S. investments in data centers,

energy and critical minerals, the latest big bank to roll out flashy

initiatives to enhance national competitiveness.

The second-largest bank in the nation by assets said the initiative

would involve lending and investing, as well as capital markets, banking

and advisory work all to support a "new wave of infrastructure

investment." It said the investments could create tens of thousands of

jobs along the way.

Bank of America is joining its peers in launching similar national

campaigns that together would put trillions of dollars in capital toward

boosting U.S. interests. The endeavors come against a backdrop of an

administration that has exerted extraordinary pressure on American

companies.

Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner Are Buying the Lakers in a Record $12.5

Billion Deal

A group led by Bob Iger and Joshua Kushner have agreed to buy a

controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers from Mark Walter, the

billionaire who also owns the Los Angeles Dodgers and whose financial

empire is the subject of a federal probe.

Kushner and Iger are in agreement to buy a majority stake in the

basketball franchise in a deal that values it at around $12.5 billion,

according to people familiar with the deal, marking the highest-ever

valuation for any sports team.

Walter bought the Lakers last year from the Buss family, which had

owned the team since 1979 and maintained a minority stake. That deal

valued the storied NBA team at $10 billion, a record price tag at the

time.

TALKING POINT Wealth Management Has a $3 Trillion Problem: Investors Are Keeping Too Much Cash

Since Don Ross retired as an airline pilot a decade ago, all the financial planners he has spoken with have wanted him to invest his cash. He isn't sold.

He is keeping 85% of his portfolio in stocks and the rest in a money-market fund yielding 3.62%. Ross looked at historical bear markets and determined they typically don't last longer than three years. He keeps enough of his portfolio in cash to comfortably get himself through that period, and he sells stocks when he needs to replenish his cash pile.

The financial planners have suggested bond funds, but to the 75-year-old, "there couldn't be a worse stream of income."

He is among the investors giving headaches to the money managers who want them to part ways with their cash. Individual investors are sitting on a mountain of it. There is over $3 trillion in retail money-market funds, hovering around a record high, according to the Investment Company Institute. (And that doesn't include the trillions of institutional dollars sitting in money-market funds.)

Assets flooded into these funds in 2022 when the Federal Reserve ended its policy of near-zero interest rates. Money-market yields rose above 5%. Rates have since fallen, but money-market funds, which now yield 3.49% on average, according to Crane Data, have retained their appeal.

Now wealth and asset managers, eager to prove their worth and in many cases earn more fees, are trying to persuade investors to put it to work. Search for the phrase "too much cash" and you will find numerous articles penned by the likes of JPMorgan Chase and Charles Schwab, warning about the risk of being underinvested.

--Miriam Gottfried, The Wall Street Journal

Expected Major Events for Thursday 06:00/UK: 2Q Business investment in the UK: provisional results

06:00/UK: Jun Index of Production

06:00/UK: Jun UK trade

06:00/UK: Jun Index of services

06:00/UK: 2Q First quarterly estimate of GDP

06:00/UK: Jun Monthly GDP estimates

08:30/UK: 2Q Mortgage and landlord possession statistics

08:30/UK: 2Q Mortgage Arrears and Possessions data

11:30/UK: Jul NIESR Monthly GDP Tracker

12:30/US: Jul PPI

12:30/US: 08/08 Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims Report - Initial Claims

12:30/US: U.S. Weekly Export Sales

13:00/RUS: Weekly International Reserves

14:30/US: 08/07 EIA Weekly Natural Gas Storage Report

20:30/US: Federal Discount Window Borrowings

20:30/US: Foreign Central Bank Holdings

(MORE TO FOLLOW) Dow Jones Newswires

August 12, 2026 16:36 ET (20:36 GMT)